Jury still out on PM's foreign policy

Most people have yet to decide whether Gordon Brown is following a fair and just foreign policy since he came to power.

A YouGov survey for Oxfam found the jury was still out on Mr Brown's actions overseas. One in five people said they did not believe Mr Brown's overseas policy was fair and just, the same as the proportion of people who approved of his record since taking power in June. Mr Brown has been anxious to distance himself from Tony Blair's foreign policy and ministers have dropped references to the war on terror.

Oxfam Director, Barbara Stocking, said: "Public opinion is still out as far as Gordon Brown's approach to foreign policy goes.

"With UK foreign policy containing the potential to impact positively or negatively on many of the people Oxfam works with around the world, the public is waiting to see how he will take a different approach.

"Under Tony Blair the UK's ability to be an international force for good was undermined by foreign policy errors, especially on Iraq and Lebanon.

"Clearly the public are giving Gordon Brown the benefit of the doubt."